Avoiding the terror of a Performance Improvement Plan

Question

Over my career, I have needed to take several team members through a PIP (performance improvement plan). I was also given a PIP during one job.

From both sides of the coin, there are many things that are disliked about it — but the most difficult one is the anxiety that arises from the process. The concern that comes to most people is distracting, and results in them not clearly focusing on the changes that need to be made.

I would like to design & conduct a PIP that does not create such anxiety. I think it would be more humane to give people a process that respects the situation better. I know that some will still not be mature enough to handle this, and will take it poorly — but I think I would prefer that just highlight their lack of ability to learn what is needed.

We want to support our team in exceptional manners. The process of implementing a PIP does not feel like exceptional support.

What strategy, for conducting a PIP, has resulted in the team member not being distracted with stress about their performance gap? Is there an ideal way to interact with team members, that makes 'rolling into' a PIP a more supportive & less 'executionary' matter?

Answer 1

It's called "management".

The very first thing you do with an under-performing employee is give short explicit instructions like "always include the cover sheet on the TPS report".

You might have to repeat your instructions several times and you must definitely follow up on them to be sure they were followed every time. With luck, the employee starts doing what you need done.

That's your informal low stress Performance Improvement Plan. It's low stress because you're just doing your job and you're not explicitly mentioning consequences for noncompliance.

If that doesn't work, you need to do something more formal to make them aware that continued employment depends on them making the changes you require. This will cause anxiety no matter what you call the process.

In fact, if you do manage to come up with an emotionally neutral name for the process, be aware that the name will eventually collect a stigma anyway.

Answer 2

I would like to design & conduct a PIP that does not create such anxiety

You can't. It's inherent in the fundamental idea you are trying to do - no matter what you make it like, a PIP is effectively "if you don't get better at your job, you'll get fired."

Now that being said there are ways to mitigate the problems.

First, and most important, is that you should never bring up performance issues for the first time with a formalized PIP. Always work with your employees as much as you can to discuss performance issues before formalizing it with a PIP.

Second, a PIP needs to have clearly achievable performance metrics. A vague, "do better or you're fired" is a lot more stressful than a "do X, Y, and Z or you're fired." Both are stressful, but one is considerably more difficult to achieve.

Third, as HLGEM suggests, keep a track record of people who successfully "pass" a PIP. You obviously cannot give out specifics, but if you can say "I had another person on a PIP last year and they still work here" can help reduce anxiety by showing it is actually possible to "pass" a PIP.

At the end of the day, you are basically saying "unless you improve you get fired" and if that isn't the case, make it clear. Maybe it's "you get transferred" or something. So if you are in a situation where a PIP doesn't mean "improve or fired" make that clear.

Answer 3

The best thing you can do for your team member is to cast yourself on his side of the problem.

A PIP places an employee in the position of facing articulated requirements for changes in his behavior. The truth is, you are the arbiter of this adversarial proceeding. You will need to do justice to both parties, and you cannot falsify the results.

However, you can take on the additional duty of aiding and encouraging your team member in his efforts to meet the PIP requirements. You, being a good manager, have already determined to do this.

Now, in order to reduce the terror felt by your team member, you must make clear to him the distinction between your two roles (arbiter and advocate). This will be more or less difficult depending on your management style and your existing dynamic. De-emphasize yourself as arbiter, and demonstrate your advocacy for his success.

At the very least, you must convince your team member that you will not advocate against him.

Answer 4

A performance improvement plan is an admission on Management's part that they have failed to communicate with this employee. It should be the absolute last resort after all other attempts to explain to the employee what you need to see from them, and to help them understand the need and deliver it, have been made and have been unsuccessful.

If you aren't about to fire the employee for cause unless they shape up in a hurry, or if you don't believe that the employee can improve with this guidance, a PIP is something of a nuclear flyswatter. Invoking the PIP process for any lesser reason can destroy all trust in the management chain. Simply declining to fight it when some higher-level a'hole tries to hit one of your people with it can also have that effect.

If you must go this route, be absolutely clear about the success criteria the employee will be measured against. These can not include anything that would not be asked of any of their peers. They must be the only tasks they are expected to work on during the PIP period. They must be S.M.A.R.T goals, emphasis on achievable and measurable. You MUST NOT move the goalposts farther out after setting them; if the employee finds a way to meet the goal that you didn't anticipate you must acknowledge that the goal has none the less been met. You must work with the employee to track progress. You must accept that if you set an unreasonable goal, it's on you to fix that.

Doing a PIP defensibly is neither easy nor cheap. It will burn a lot of management time too. You really don't want to go there unless you must.

And above all else, never assign a PIP to someone whom you've just given a high performance rating. That's about as blatant an admission of management incompetence and/or illegal discrimination as one can get. If you really must fire a high performer, admit that this is what you are doing and accept all the social and legal consequences.

Additional comment: unless you are completely incompetent or the employee is completely oblivious, a PIP should never be a surprise. See above re, I don't know, managing first.

(If you can't guide an employee without a PIP, then maybe you should be put on one yourself; you are failing your job as a manager. If that sounds unreasonable, you don't understand what a PIP is and have no business invoking that process )

Answer 5

Been on the receiving end of PIP

I say you try to avoid the “cornered animal” mentality. Maybe give people the option to take a severance and quit now or go through the PIP process and try to keep the job. I expect most people would just take the severance because they’re obviously don’t like the job to be so disengaged. In other words, give people options and an escape plan. That’s the most humane way to go about it.

Answer 6

All of these answers lead me to think that the better strategy to avoid inducing anxiety is to include the "X,Y,Z" performance metrics in the conversational 1:1 meetings.

Ideally, do this as a process of supporting their growth. it just happens to double for PIP-like gatekeeping when the slope is downward.

1. Keep a log of when the specificity was introduced (needed), and when it was demonstrated. Depending on the environment, this log could be a shared document between the employee and manager.
2. I would avoid having it shared obviously with HR and other staff. Despite the legal obviousness of it, that 'sausage-making' process unnerves some kinds of people.)
3. When 3 (?) or more of these 'PIP-events' have occurred, set specifically engage the employee regarding that history.
   • this could be celebratory, if they have succeeded in each of the corrections. Big moral and confidence boost, and reinforces trust between everyone.
   • If they are fails, then it's a more natural segue to re-evaluating the role with the employee. Maybe they aren't too happy either, and the conversation can mutually unfold.
4. If these continue to occur then it is grounds for termination. The employee has already gone through many X,Y,Z PIP processes, and you've discussed with them that the company needs these practices/behaviors in order to function.

I recognize that, after step 3, encouraging people to consider the career they are most happy with doesn't work in environments with serious security concerns. I think this overall template works regardless, as a classical PIP leaves just as much security concern open (e.g. retaliation for unfair judgement or being forced out).

Since everything called for in a PIP can be done this way, it satisfying HR's legal requirements.

I won't be accepting my own answer, because I think it's more fair to award credit to those that helped shape it.